Genius Club

“That’s not quite right,” Lin Xian shook his head.

Technically speaking, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, didn’t come out of this time-space particle conflict unscathed. He didn’t directly participate in the battle, but launching that timely rocket surely wasn’t cheap.

Moreover, his multi-billion-dollar Starlink satellite project, which he spent years and billions of dollars on, was completely destroyed. The direct losses, indirect losses from stock prices, and subsequent related losses combined would likely multiply the initial billions by several times.

If the chain reaction caused by this incident continues to develop, Elon Musk will inevitably lose his position as the world’s richest man. Judging by the current stock prices, it seems like he has already lost it. However, the wealth of these world tycoons fluctuates greatly every day. The exact amount of wealth cannot be accurately predicted. But it’s clear that Elon Musk has suffered a severe blow, akin to being stabbed in a vital artery.

So, from an economic perspective, Elon Musk is actually the biggest loser in this time-space particle conflict. Therefore, it can’t be said that Elon Musk was just watching from the sidelines. In a sense, he is also a victim.

“Moreover…” Lin Xian lowered his head and looked at the bustling night view of the capital in the distance.

“Moreover, all my current speculations are based on the assumption that the dream world is real. If we consider the possibility that the dream world is fake, simulated, or staged in a studio, then trying to deduce who the mastermind is right now is meaningless.”

“So, the most urgent task is to find a way to quickly determine the authenticity of the dream world. Only by confirming this premise can we continue to reason further. Otherwise, if the premise is wrong, like a crooked foundation, all subsequent reasoning and construction will inevitably be skewed and wrong.”

Thinking of this, Lin Xian reached out his right hand and pressed it against his chest. Inside the pocket of his pajamas was a small note left by Chu An Qing.

This small note was the last thing Chu An Qing left for him. For months, Lin Xian had been agonizing over what to write on the note that could deceive everyone, even if the enemy saw and copied it, and still convey a message across 600 years, enlightening him about the reality of the dream world.

He had shared this dilemma with Chu An Qing on his 25th birthday. At the time, she couldn’t think of an answer either, believing the question to be too difficult. But after Chu An Qing touched the time-space particle, she seemed like a different person, as if she remembered something or gained some memory. She was visibly upset and desperately asked Yellow Finch if everything was real.

Lin Xian couldn’t understand what specifically Chu An Qing was asking. Her intense reaction after touching the time-space particle indicated that she recalled something significant.

There was no time to ask these questions back then, as Chu An Qing was in a hurry to write the note and grab the time-space particle. Lin Xian had planned to ask her everything once it was over, but he never got the chance. It became another unsolvable mystery.

And the answer, he believed, was written on this little note that held the weight of time and fate.

Lin Xian’s fingers twitched against his chest, feeling the folded note through his thin pajamas. To this day, no one had seen the note—not even him. No one in 2024 knew what was on it. Chu An Qing, the only person who knew, had disappeared. Thus, a secret was born that no one in the world knew.

Lin Xian carried this note with him at all times, never daring to let it out of his sight. It was the note Chu An Qing had exchanged her life for. Losing it or letting someone else see it would betray her intentions.

She had told him seriously, “Read it when you get there… You’ll understand.”

Her eyes were filled with confidence. Lin Xian trusted her. Chu An Qing was straightforward and sincere. If she didn’t understand something, she wouldn’t pretend to. Likewise, if she was certain about something, it was likely true.

Moreover, the content of the note was written by Chu An Qing after touching the time-space particle, undoubtedly related to her emotional breakdown and the memories she seemed to have awakened. On the space shuttle, when he asked Chu An Qing what had happened, she had almost spoken out but stopped abruptly and chose to write the note instead.

This indicated that what she wanted to say was highly relevant and equally important as what was written on the note. Lin Xian had endlessly speculated about the note’s content but was determined not to read it in 2024. If he looked at it now, everything would be in vain.

Especially in this fourth dream, which, as VV said, seemed increasingly fake the more he experienced it. He needed an answer, a truth, a guide to continue reasoning and moving forward. And this note, capable of deceiving everyone, was his last hope in breaking the puzzle of the fourth dream.

“I’ll put it in the aluminum alloy safe at Time Bank,” Lin Xian muttered softly.

Time Bank, owned by Brother Wang, had just started its trial operation on March 20th, his birthday. Since Lin Xian was training at the Jiuyuan Satellite Launch Center that day, he couldn’t attend the event, but Brother Wang sent him many photos and videos.

The trial operation seemed lively, and Lin Xian was surprised by the number of people still childlike at heart. According to Brother Wang, they sold 30 safe deposit box slots on the first day, with the shortest being 50 years and the longest 200 years.

Of course, payment plans were flexible, as Time Bank was Brother Wang’s long-term project. Selling 30 safe deposit boxes on the first day, with such long storage times, was beyond Lin Xian’s expectations. He had thought people would be more interested in the novelty rather than seriously committing to the “time capsule” concept.

But he was wrong. Anything unique and unprecedented seemed to attract attention. Time Bank was unique in the world, novel, and precious. Even 600 years later, it remained popular, capable of renting numerous airships for anniversary ads, proving its thriving status across centuries.

Brother Wang had also sent photos of the Time Bank warehouse, which looked similar to what Lin Xian had seen in the first and second dreamscapes, albeit larger and with more safes. But the layout remained the same—concrete walls with aluminum alloy safes embedded in them.

This scene evoked nostalgia and clarity for Lin Xian. Brother Wang even sent a picture of Safe No. 66, with Lin Xian’s name engraved on the nameplate, waiting for him to open it and set an unchangeable password.

Lin Xian had planned to go straight back to Donghai City after landing from the space shuttle to store the note in the safe and set a password. But now, he couldn’t face going back to Donghai City.

It wasn’t that he feared Chu Shan He would throw him into the Huangpu River. If Chu Shan He did, it might lessen his guilt. He could crawl back out, battered and embarrassed. He had promised to take care of Chu Shan He’s daughter and bring her home safely. Now she was missing, presumed dead, and he had failed to fulfill his promise. How could he not expect Chu Shan He to be furious?

But he knew Chu Shan He too well. A man of loyalty and reason, with a broad heart, Chu Shan He probably wouldn’t blame him, even patting him on the shoulder and saying, “Lin Xian, I don’t blame you.”

That was exactly why Lin Xian felt even more guilty and uncomfortable. Until he figured out what happened to Chu An Qing, he had no face to return to Donghai City. He needed to understand everything and give Chu Shan He a proper explanation.

For now, storing the note in the Time Bank safe would have to wait. The best case would be after digging up Zhang Yu Qian’s grave in Qufu, Shandong, finding any remains, and comparing the DNA with Chu An Qing’s hair to get a clear answer before returning to Donghai City.

Following the normal historical trajectory, once he stored the note in Time Bank in 2024, it would reappear in the aluminum alloy safe in 2624, waiting for him. After solving the mystery of the old man in the current era, he would have free reign in the fourth dream. Then he would only need to find Time Bank, enter the correct password, open the safe, and read Chu An Qing’s note, revealing the truth.

“Just wait a little longer, An Qing,” Lin Xian pressed the note against his chest. “I will figure this out and won’t let you down.”

He lifted his head again. The bustling night of the capital was as vibrant and bright as ever, no different from the neon nights of Donghai City, perhaps even livelier in the Xidan area.

But all this liveliness had nothing to do with Lin Xian. He often reminisced about the moments with Chu An Qing at the Xidan Shopping Plaza: the succulent grape milk tea, the plush toys from the claw machine, the fireworks-laden food street, and the quiet bar singing “No More Contact.”

It all seemed like yesterday and yet a lifetime ago. Lin Xian reached out towards the sky, grasping and opening his hand. He had held it, Chu An Qing’s hand, even through the thick spacesuit, feeling her firm grip.

But when they landed, she had vanished.

These days, Lin Xian constantly pondered the question: Did Chu An Qing disappear at 00:42 because she touched the time-space particle, or was her disappearance at 00:42 inevitable, whether she touched the particle or not?

He couldn’t figure it out. But he was certain that after touching the time-space particle, Chu An Qing knew she would disappear at 00:42. This deduction seemed correct. It explained why Chu An Qing insisted on going outside the cabin, standing on the space shuttle’s wing to capture the time-space particle.

She knew her time was up. She only had a few minutes left and was no longer cautious about her life, willing to do anything reckless. No wonder no one could stop her. Lin Xian and Gao Yang had a heated argument with Yellow Finch, almost coming to blows. But Chu An Qing stood firmly with Yellow Finch, persuading them despite their objections. The compromise was a safety rope tied to Chu An Qing’s spacesuit, held by everyone.

Unfortunately, Lin Xian hadn’t realized that Chu An Qing’s disappearance at 00:42 was inevitable until she stood on the wing, sighed, and asked Yellow Finch for the time. Her tone, her words, her nonchalance, and the blue stardust after landing made Lin Xian belatedly realize: Chu An Qing had known her death time.

She knew she would vanish at 00:42 on March 28, 2024. That’s why she dared to go outside, unfasten the safety rope, jump from the space shuttle’s wing, and fall from 20,000 meters with the rice cooker, facing death without fear.

“Ah…” Lin Xian sighed.

This was the logic. As Yellow Finch had said, there was no need to save Chu An Qing, who was destined to disappear at 00:42. She would die anyway. But for Lin Xian, even knowing this, even if given a thousand or ten thousand chances, he would still jump from the plane without hesitation.

It was foolish, irrational, and uneconomical. But as he had told Liu Feng, life wasn’t a math problem with a correct answer. He would always choose to jump from the plane to save Chu An Qing.

“Hmph!” Suddenly, Gao Yang, who had been holding his breath for a long time, let out a loud snort and sat up in bed. “Damn… why do I feel so stuffy! I was almost suffocated!”

He turned and looked at the open balcony window, the cold wind blowing in, and Lin Xian standing on the balcony in the moonlight. “Damn! What are you doing, man? Trying to scare people in the middle of the night? You almost scared me to death!”

Lin Xian came back to his senses, turned to Gao Yang. “You should lose some weight. Otherwise, you might suffocate in your sleep before anyone scares you to death.”

“What time is it? Hurry up and get back to bed! I was wondering why it’s so cold. Close the balcony door. It’s not even April yet. The capital is different from Donghai City; it’s freezing! Hurry up and come back… I can’t sleep without you.”

With that, Gao Yang rolled over and started snoring again.

Lin Xian checked the time; it was indeed late. And the capital was cold in late March, unlike the warmer Donghai City.

“Let’s sleep. We’ll think about it tomorrow.”

Now, he had set aside all other concerns to focus on investigating Chu An Qing’s disappearance. There were many mysteries to unravel, but he believed he could figure it out and give Chu Shan He and himself a proper answer.

Yawning, Lin Xian walked back into the hotel suite, closed the balcony door, lay down on the bed, pulled up the covers, and closed his eyes.

Hopefully, tomorrow’s investigation would go smoothly.